Christa
by ScienceFictionLover.aj
Summary: This is my version of a 'prequel' for Christa. It is my own interpretation of why she is who she is and how she could have gone from an A* student to 'just another ASBO in waiting' in such a short space of time. I will publish it in short 'scenes'. Enjoy!


_Sunday 08.00_

_A middle-aged woman and a girl are sat at either end of a small table in their cramped kitchen. The mother, Deborah, is sitting up straight, her eyes straight forward concentrating. Anyone who didn't know her would just assume she was figuring out a difficult maths problem rather than crying silently. The girl- no a teenager, 16 or 17 and moody, is slumped in her chair, as far away from her mother as possible. She sits twiddling with a loose thread on her black cardigan that hangs off her thin yet sturdy frame far too freely. She has lost a lot of weight recently due to stress or a new exercise regime. No. Definitely stress, she's not the type to do sport._

_Christa and Deborah sit at the table for breakfast, neither really interested in their food. Deborah picks up the newspaper; she inspects the cover then opens it at a random page. __Christa looks up from her sleeve and pushes her limp, greasy hair out of her face revealing her eyes; puffy due to many sleepless nights rocked with nightmares of that awful day. In the hopes of finding something to help escape her own thoughts, she looks up at the paper. The Front cover reads 'Glastonbury is coming'. _

CHRISTA (voice over)  
We've all seen the headlines

_In the corner there is a short paragraph with the caption: 'Animal Attacks on the Rise' lurking ominously above. _

CHRISTA (V.O.)  
Natural disasters, violence, death  
(Beat)  
Total devastation.

_Finding nothing, she stands up, wipes her eyes and touches her mother's shoulder as she leaves the room. The touch could barely count as a pat- more an unspoken conversation between mother and child just to say "I'm here". Deborah does not watch her daughter leave, just listens for the door to latch._

CHRISTA (V.O)  
And we think "That's awful"  
(Beat)  
But then we forget about it and just carry on with our own lives.

_Once she is alone, she folds away the newspaper she had only been pretending to read and glances at Christa's untouched food. She too wipes her now swollen eyes. Her right eye is a little more swollen than the left with a faint green-purple hue to the cheek. She walks over to the sink to do the dishes, as she raises her left sleeve, the scars left from years of torment and silent agony glisten in the light. Upon seeing her arm all the memories come flooding back. Shaking and trembling, she reaches for a knife preparing to cut- no, carve._

CHRISTA (V.O.)  
Leaving those poor people to pick up the pieces and try to recover from the nightmare that is their life.

*Whilst still seeing her shake a reach for a knife, a montage of images appear*

_A mustachioed, arrogant looking man stands over a much younger, healthier version of Deborah. They fight. A look of satisfaction crosses his face as he slaps her to the floor._

CHRISTA (V.O.)  
Whether it's from experiencing physical pain.

_Then she, looking more weathered this time, runs around her bedroom attempting to pack her bags without being heard. The man appears at the door. A look of anger flashes across his face as he sees her then he laughs as he backs her into a corner. "Peter, NO!" She tries to scream but she is knocked to the floor, unconscious. Just then Christa, looking happy and healthy, her hair up in a pony tail in bouncy curls, appears at the door. Peter turns to see her, anger in his eyes. She has seen this too many times before; she lunges towards him. He raises his arm preparing to beat her but she is too nimble. He ends up swinging his arm, missing her and hitting his head on the wrought iron bed post. Deborah, regaining consciousness realizes what has happened and comforts her daughter who is shaking and crying in the far corner of the room._

CHRISTA (V.O.)  
Or the psychological damage that comes with hurting someone you love.

_Paramedics carry Peter into an ambulance on a stretcher. Christa and her mother are being questioned by a police officer. They are both still shaken by the events that have just transpired. A young man, around 17 or 18 appears on the scene on his motor bike. Christa becomes distracted by what the Police officer is saying and runs to the man. They embrace, she still crying into his chest as he comforts her. A glance passes between the young man, Liam, and Deborah, a look of dislike but with a hint of empathy. Neither much cares for the other but they have a mutual love: Christa._

CHRISTA (V.O.)  
How does someone recover from that?  
(Beat)  
And even so

_

* * *

_

_Now Christa wearing the same clothes as at breakfast is in a book store. She finds the book she was looking for: 'Wuthering Heights' and goes to pay._

_At the cashiers desk she pulls out her wallet to pay. Inside the wallet there is a family photo. Peter, Deborah and Christa sitting together smiling- the perfect family. A look of disgust mixed with anguish crosses Christa's face as she takes out a ten pound note to pay for the book. If only she had known then that it had all been a lie._

CHRISTA (V.O)  
Life goes on.


End file.
